Description

Admiral Razorbeard and his gang of robot pirates have enslaved all the creatures in Rayman's world, including the peaceful Teensies and the Lums, which give life to the earth. Rayman has been captured by the pirates as well and is lamenting his troubles in his prison cell, when he meets his good friend, Globox. Globox has smuggled in a silver Lum, given to him by the great fairy, Ly. With the power of the silver Lum, Rayman is able to once more shoot his fists. With his power restored, the pair escape the flying prison ship and embark on another adventure to save the entire world!

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is the sequel to Rayman, a 2D side-scrolling platform game. Unlike the previous game, Rayman 2 is entirely in free-roaming 3D environments, similar to Super Mario 64. Rayman has many unique abilities that can help him get around the world. In addition to being able to shoot his fists, he can use his hair to hover like a helicopter, and even glide on air currents in certain places. He can climb certain walls and ceilings and can even use his fists to swing from special purple Lums which are shaped like rings. Rayman also has many unique items at his disposal, such as powder kegs which can be carried or fly like jets, strange warheads with legs that he can ride and steer like bucking mules, and gigantic plums that can be thrown into the water to create new paths.

Rayman's goal is to find the four masks of the world, which allow the owner to reawaken Polokus, the spirit of the world. These masks are scattered far and wide, and are well hidden and guarded, so it is not an easy task. By gathering the yellow Lums, Rayman will gain access to new worlds, which will take him to the locations of new masks. Collecting yellow Lums also rewards him with new powers and life meter extensions.

Forums

Trivia

Character name changes

The names of a few characters changed during design of the game.

The original name of Globox was Globber.
The original name of Razorbeard was Razorface.
The original name of the Teensies was Smalbeings.
The original name of Polokus was Polochus.
And the robo-pirates were originally named the Mysterious Guild.

Development history

Originally, during the early development of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, it was going to be a 2D side-scroller. However, because of the new and constant usage of 3D graphics in games of that era, the original 2D design was scrapped and Ubisoft decided to make their franchise 3D as well. Details and screenshots of the original prototype can be seen here.

Extras

The PSX release of Rayman 2 originally came with a digital watch.

Japanese version

In Japan, purple is the colour of death. Because of that, some characters with purple in them were changed. Rayman's body was made blue, Sssssam the snake turned into a kind of green, and Jano's hat was turned red. But the most bizarre change was made to Ly, who's body was changed from orange/purple to white/pink.

References

The purple general who sells Razorbeard the Grolgoth is also featured in Tonic Trouble's opening cinematic.